Transcending the Nine Heavens

When Chu Yang returned to the Orchard Palace, the Fifth Elder from the Medicine Valley was already there with his men.

This Fifth Elder was unexpectedly quite the gentleman. When he saw that only Zi Xieqing, a lone woman, was in the Orchard Palace, the old fellow actually insisted on waiting outside the gates with his men, citing the need to maintain a modest distance from the lady.

This caused the few young Medicine Valley disciples he brought over to curse him wildly in their hearts.

What the hell, we can only see a lady of such beauty once in a lifetime and this old coot actually chased all of us out… not even allowing us a few more glances!

Seeing Chu Yang approach at a steady pace from afar, the Fifth Elder’s face blossomed into a bright smile.

These past few days, people from the Medicine Valley had been tailing Chu Yang to no avail.

When the Fifth Elder reported that to the higher-ups, the tailing operation was firmly canceled and clear instructions were given — what they wanted were the herbs, not the man!

As long as he had the herbs, they were to buy it from him. However, they were also to take care not to offend him, lest they lose their source of goods.

“Brother Chu! Haha, Brother Chu.” Taking a few hurried steps forward, the Fifth Elder welcomed him with a smile. He grabbed Chu Yang’s hand with one grand motion, much like someone who had just been reunited with his lover amidst war-torn streets. “You’re finally back!”

Chu Yang was filled with bewilderment. “What’s the matter, Fifth Elder?”

“You know…” The Fifth Elder pulled him aside anxiously. “Did you get the medicine? The auction is in two days!”

“I got my hands on a few.” Chu Yang finally made sense of the situation, replying secretively too.

“This…” The Fifth Elder rubbed his fingers. “How much is there?”

Chu Yang replied with a difficult expression, “Not much…”

“How much is not much?” The Fifth Elder was rather anxious, thinking in his heart that they would be in quite the predicament if he had only one or two stalks. The Medicine Valley went through a lot of trouble to bring forward the auction because of him… if he wasn’t able to get the job done…

“Only 800 stalks…” Chu Yang shook his head and sighed. “That’s too few.”

800 stalks!

The Fifth Elder’s eyes shot wide open, unable to catch his breath for a moment and almost passing out.

800 stalks and you still find that too few?

How many are considered many then…

“That’s enough! Enough!” The Fifth Elder broke into a beaming smile, his face entirely red from extreme excitement. He rubbed his hands together and asked, “Where are they? Can I take a look?”

“They’re in there.” Chu Yang pointed at the Orchard Palace. “But… I’m afraid if you want to transport them over…”

The Fifth Elder got it immediately. “I’ll bring a few professionals over and escort them back, and issue you an invoice while I’m at it…”

Chu Yang nodded gleefully.

Purple crystals! A whole bunch of Purple Crystals incoming!

What he lacked the most right now were Purple Crystals!

The Fifth Elder left joyfully.

He returned just as joyfully during the late afternoon, right before the sky turned dark. However, his face had turned a tad deferential and reserved.

Chu Yang nodded secretly. The rate at which news spread among the Nine Super Clans was still pretty quick.

The ones that followed behind him were dignified figures clad in white and exuding an air of gracefulness and nobility.

After entering his room, Chu Yang pretended to rub something in his sleeve, as if opening a spatial storage ring.

A pile of black herbs came cascading out, filling up the space on the ground.

“This, this, this…” The Fifth Elder was so dumbstruck that his speech ability deserted him. Suddenly, he lost control of his temper and yelled, “You friggin’ didn’t store them in boxes!”

On the way here, the higher-ups of the Medicine Valley had already briefed him. “Chu Yang’s background is no joke. You must be courteous when you are there!”

But this moment, when the Fifth Elder saw how Chu Yang so casually flung the herbs out onto the ground with a thump, he flew into a rage. What background — he couldn’t care less! He started to berate him furiously.

Chu Yang held his hands out nonchalantly. “I don’t have a choice either. My friend gave them to me like this.”

The Fifth Elder continued his furious tirade and agitatedly ordered his men to go back and retrieve some Purple Crystal boxes. He even chased after them to the outside and yelled, “The kind that’s the highest grade! The more the merrier! Let them bring a few horse carriages over while you’re at it, damn it!”

Only then did he recall Chu Yang’s ‘powerful background’ and sheepishly apologized. “Brother Chu, uhh, my apologies. I lost control of my mouth somewhat.”

Chu Yang burst into laughter. “Don’t worry about it! This is what you call being genuine, my good man!”

The Fifth Elder was delighted and rubbed his palms together. “Yes, I’m exactly the straight as an arrow type. Whoever crosses me gets a scolding from me.” As he went on, he lowered his voice and said, “The other time, I scolded the Valley Master… and got hung by the boss on a peach tree and whipped 300 times…”

Chu Yang felt a little numb.

Looking at this old but childish Fifth Elder, he seriously couldn’t imagine that Grand Elder actually daring to hang someone as old as the Fifth Elder up and put him through 300 strokes of the whip, when he looked like he could be easily killed with the push of a finger…

How valiant…

Before long, the professional that had gone back returned to the Orchard Palace with gigantic baggage the size of a hill. Panting, he said, “The carriage fleet is at the back. I was concerned that the medicinal effect of the herbs would dissipate, so I came here first.”

The Fifth Elder said approvingly, “Well done!”

That professional complained grouchily, “Bloody hell, the whole way here, a bunch of people at the bottom was shouting, ‘Look… A piece of huge baggage is flying on its own’… Motherf*ckers, can’t they see that there’s a big live human underneath supporting it.”

Chu Yang spat his mouthful of tea out with a loud splat.

This professional was 35 to 40 kilograms at best, frighteningly small and skinny. Under the premise of such enormous baggage, it really was rather hard to notice him.

The Fifth Elder began to hurriedly command his men to store the herbs into the boxes, shouting and bellowing at them.

“Don’t damage the roots on this.”

“You must maintain the leaves on this!”

“This… Are you stupid! Can this even be stored in a Purple Crystal box? Where are the Crystal Core boxes?!”

“Bastard, this one is stored wrongly!”

“Trash! A whole lot of trash! Practically more of a wastrel than Chu Yang! Uhh… sorry, Brother Chu, my mouth is at it again…”

Chu Yang didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, his expression twisted and constipated.

This old coot seriously… had no concept of taboo.

With much ado, they finally packed it all up and left. The Fifth Elder gave Chu Yang a long invoice for the Medicine Valley auction and patted his own chest with assurance. Then he departed, heart full and content, with two large horse carriages’ worth of Purple Crystal boxes and herbs, and embarked on a victorious journey back.

“Two days later? Auction?”

Chu Yang clutched the ten invitations tightly in his hand. The Medicine Valley’s Fifth Elder had forced those on him and said that he could bring friends and family over to broaden their horizons. With a gleeful chuckle, he said, “You have to go and join the fun when that time comes!”

With a swivel of his eyes, he muttered, “But if I were to go this time, I would have to go with a bang. There’s only so many times I can borrow Big Sister Zi’s might. If she leaves with a swoosh, I won’t even have the chance to borrow her power to intimidate people anymore.”

He strolled toward Zi Xieqing’s room.

“You want me to go and help boost your presence?” Zi Xieqing frowned at the shameless man in front of her.

“Yeah, you’re Le’er’s Teacher, you know.” Chu Yang grinned like someone up to no good. “If not you, then who?”

Zi Xieqing held her forehead in her palm with a resigned look.

“Are you going or not?” Chu Yang urged her.

“Let us seek a bit of enlightenment about the Tao state and I’ll go.” Zi Xieqing hooked her finger at him.

“Waaahhh, save me…” Chu Yang spun around and ran out.

Before he even got far, a solid kick had already landed on the fleshiest part of his butt. His limbs waved wildly as he flew through the air and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Minister Chu laid firmly on the smooth ground, gliding far, far out as if on a slide…

He was followed closely by a slender figure.

Pow pow bam bam bam bam…

In the evening, Chu Yang rubbed his sore butt as he hobbled along the streets of Tianji City. The bruises on his face were finally dispelled but the ache along his hip bone had gotten exponentially worse.

For some unknown reason, Zi Xieqing’s interest in his butt was getting stronger and stronger recently. Whenever they sparred, she would rain a full course of devastating kicks on his butt.

Chu Yang surmised that if it weren’t for the Nine Tribulations Pill, his butt would definitely have swelled beyond the size of a door by now…

Now that Chu Yang had someone powerful backing him up, he could practically do whatever he wanted in this Tianji City. So he went out confidently and openly even on his own!

He reached the doors of an establishment named Four Seas Inn and went in. After exchanging a few words with the waiter and casually tipping him a White Crystal, Chu Yang strolled up to the second storey.

He tiptoed over to the door of one of the rooms.

He pressed his ear against the door, an interesting mix of anticipation and agitation on his face…

Two people were talking inside.

One of them said, “Damn, Fourth, what level are you now?”

The other was very calm and said in an imposing voice, “Saber Saint, fifth grade!”

The person from before whined, “Why are you so fast? How can this be when you’re basking in my glory? I’m only at Martial Saint mid-level grade three while you’re already grade five, and a Saber Saint at that.”

The imposing voice said, “Lei’er is already grade five now.”

The first person howled in anguish. “I’m better off dead…”

The imposing voice replied, “Your death count is too low, you should die a few more times. Your cultivation will improve by leaps and bounds that way.”

“F*ck you!” the first person said agitatedly, “How the hell would you know the kind of agony I have to go through every time? That is a real phobia toward death! Motherf*cker! It’s easier said than done. Every time I f*cking die, I have to wake up to the two of you next to me absorbing vital spiritual energy… and progressing at an extraordinary speed. You guys don’t hold back at all… damn it all!”

That imposing voice was as cool as a cucumber. “You’re a dumbass if you don’t take advantage of what you can. That’s what the Boss said.”

“Boss is such a bastard!” The first voice turned agitated immediately. “Throwing the three of us into the Upper Three Heavens while he friggin’ stayed in the Middle Three Heavens to enjoy life with the other brothers… Poor wretched me in this Upper Three Heavens with not a single soul to help me. Suffering through the two of you taking advantage of me every day and still being bullied by you guys everyday… damn it, and now your wife has even gotten lazy and doesn’t even bother to cook anymore. Every time we camp outside all the time, it’s always me that’s in charge of meals… it’s all Boss’ fault! Why did he send me? Why not send Ji Mo instead, that guy is a masochist, even finding a wife that abuses him… He’s much more suitable to be here…”

The imposing voice said, “How audacious of you to insult the Boss!”

The first voice replied, “How would I dare if he were here? But the problem is that he isn’t. That bastard, bullying Ji Mo every day, poking fun at Luo Kedi, agitating Ao Xieyun, trampling on Xie Danqiong and occasionally scheming against people with Mo Tianji while exchanging flirting glances at each other. You have no idea what a good time he’s having.”